War Without Battles: Canada's NATO Brigade in Germany, 1951-1993

Dean F. Oliver is Senior Historian at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

This lavishly illustrated volume is the most comprehensive work yet on
Canada’s land force contributions to NATO’s common European defence.
It is also the best.

The book’s editorial tone is set in the foreword by British General
Sir John Hackett, who once commanded the Canadians in north Germany.
“No one who knew this splendid formation in its prime,” Hackett
writes, “can fail to be saddened by its decline and fall.” Maloney
recounts the story in exquisite detail: from the hectic early days of
the 27th Infantry Brigade’s return to Europe in 1951, through the
glory days of the 1950s (recounted well elsewhere by David Bercuson),
through the long decline in the 1960s and 1970s, to the false hopes
raised by the 1987 Defence White Paper and the eventual pullout in
1992–93. He also incorporates excellent brief discussions of Canadian
participation in both the Gulf War and the U.N. mission to former
Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR). In citing Pierre Trudeau as a central villain in
the piece (for his 50 percent cut to Canada’s European commitment),
and in bemoaning the long decline in Canada’s military role in the
alliance, Maloney’s argument is conventional; in reassessing
Canada’s military importance on the Central Front it is not. Canadian
troops mattered in securing NATO’s nonnuclear deterrent, he
suggests—sometimes greatly. He also echoes the argument, made recently
by Roy Rempel, that successive Canadian governments—and some senior
officers—failed to appreciate the political influence conferred by the
military presence in Europe.

As an official brigade history, War Without Battles suffers from the
operational and administrative minutiae demanded by its principal
audience, former members of the brigade. Extensive accounts of tactical
exercises and training are, individually, quite interesting, but
cumulatively they are deathly dull. Other details, including information
on social life, pay, discipline, and relations with the German
population, help counteract this effect, but stylistically the narrative
never excels. Content is another matter. While there are places—for
example, the discussion of Operation BROADSWORD—where better
indication of his sources might have been useful, the author provides a
readable, comprehensive account of Canada’s NATO brigade that includes
succinct, often pithy assessments of high policy and its effects on the
troops in the field. The brigade got more than its money’s worth for
this volume; so will potential purchasers.